According to Interfax, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin is carrying a “humanitarian shipment” of 100,000 tonnes of crude oil.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that severe fuel shortages meant that Cuban hospitals were struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services.
Cuba’s situation has deteriorated rapidly since 3 January, when US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro – a staunch ally of the Cuban government – who had been providing the island with oil under highly preferential terms.
Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on any nation sending oil to Cuba.
Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilev said on Wednesday that Cuba “had found itself in a difficult situation as a result of sanctions pressure”.
“That is why we are currently sending humanitarian supplies to Cuba,” he added.